Decal dispensing apparatus

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a dispensing apparatus operable to dispense decal members carried upon a roll of paper tape through the use of an actuator mechanism adapted to automatically pick up and hold the decals on longitudinal movement of the tape. More particularly, the dispensing apparatus includes an actuator mechanism provided with cooperating male and female actuator arms to grasp and hold the decal member until one desires to remove the same for applying to food products or the like.

United States Patent 3,186,589 6/1965 Westetal...............,..... 3,450,307 6/1969 Sutton.........

Primary Examiner-Samuel F. Coleman Attorney-John H. Widdowson [72] Inventor Harvey T. Hollinger Concordia, Kans. 66901 848,950

[21 1 Appl. No.

[22] Filed Aug. 11, 1969 [45] Patented May 25, 1971 [54] DECAL DISPENSING APPARATUS ABSTRACT: This invention relates to a dispensing apparatus operable to dispense decal members carried upon a roll of paper tape through the use of an actuator mechanism adapted to automatically pick up and hold the decals on longitudinal movement of the tape. More particularly, the dispensing apparatus includes an actuator mechanism provided with cooperating male and female actuator arms to grasp and hold the decal member until one desires to remove the same for applying to food products or the like.

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HARVEY T. HOLLINGER 2/4 ATTORNEY DECAL DISPENSING APPARATUS Numerous types of dispensing mechanisms are known to the prior art for use in dispensing scotch tape and the like, but none are readily operable in an efficient and effective manner to dispense and remove decal members carried upon a conveyance roll of paper tape. Additionally, the prior art dispensing mechanisms are generally complicated in nature; expensive to manufacture; and therefore, not readily usable in multiple sets for dispensing a plurality of different decal members.

In one preferred embodiment of this invention, a decal dispensing apparatus is provided adapted to receive a roll of paper tape thereupon having decal members mounted thereon to be removed for attaching through an adhesive backing on the decal members to food products or the like. The decal dispensing apparatus includes a main actuator mechanism mounted upon a support means having the roll of paper tape rotatably mounted on the support means with the free end thereof trained through the actuator mechanism. More particularly, the support means includes a main base assembly having an upright actuator strut, which, in turn, is secured to a sidewall. The sidewall is provided with a laterally extended connector shaft to rotatably mount the roll of paper tape thereon. The actuator strut is provided with an upper edge section to receive the roll of paper tape thereover. The actuator mechanism includes a male actuator arm mounted upon a pivot shaft secured to the sidewall; a female actuator arm mounted upon a shaft in the sidewall engageable with the roll of paper tape; a tension assembly mounted upon a shaft member secured to the sidewall to clamp the roll of paper tape between the same and the actuator strut; and a guide member secured to the sidewall to control directional movement of the paper tape. The male actuator arm includes a main block member having one end pivotally connected to the pivot shaft and an intermediate portion provided with a laterally extended control rod engageable with the female actuator arm. The female actuator arm is provided with a pair of support arms having one end pivotally mounted upon the shaft and the opposite end provided with a control block member. The control block member is provided with an upper cam end engageable with the male actuator arm and a lower attachment end to receive the decal members thereon. The tension assembly includes a rocker arm pivotally connected to the shaft member and having a biasing means pivoting the rocker arm into engagement with the actuator strut. The biasing means is a resilient member such as a rubberband. The guide member is secured to the sidewall positioned adjacent the lower end of the actuator strut operable to control movement of the roll of paper tape so as to make a sharp, substantially 90 turn in direction of movement on passing over the outer pointed edge section of the actuator strut.

One object of this invention is to provide a decal dispensing apparatus overcoming the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art devices. I

A further object of this invention is to provide a decal dispensing apparatus whereupon a plurality of the units can be readily stored in a compact, parallel adjacent condition, each having an actuator mechanism mounted upon a support means to contact a roll of paper tape having decal members thereon which are to be removed for applying to food products or the like.

Another object of this invention is to provide a dispensing apparatus to remove adhesively backed decal members from a roll of paper tape in a most efficient and effective manner.

Still, one further object of this invention is to provide a decal dispensing apparatus whereupon the operator can easily see operation of the mechanism and, additionally, hear machine operation when the decal member has been captured and the apparatus acts as a holding device for the captured decal member until the operator needs the same.

One other object of this invention is to provide a decal dispensing apparatus which is simple in construction, economical to manufacture, easy to use, and substantially maintenance free.

Various other objects, advantages, and features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following discussion, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the decal dispensing apparatus of this invention operable to remove decal members from a roll of paper tape mounted thereon as illustrated;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the decal dispensing apparatus of this invention; and

FIGS. 3 to 6, inclusive, show various stages of operation of the decal dispensing apparatus of this invention.

The following is a discussion and description of preferred and specific embodiments of the new decal dispensing apparatus of this invention, such being made with reference to the drawings, whereupon the same reference numerals are used to indicate the same or similar parts and/or structure. It is to be understood that such discussion and description is not to unduly limit the scope of the invention.

Referring to the drawings in detail and in particular to FIG. 1, a decal dispensing apparatus of this invention, indicated generally at 12 is shown as holding a conveyance roll of paper tape 14 having a plurality of adjacent decal members 16 adhered thereto. It is to be noted that the roll of paper tape 14 is preferrably of the waxed paper type so that the decal members 16 can be removed therefrom with a minimum amount of difficulty. The decal members 16 may be used to identify and/or price food products such as meat goods, and it has been the general practice in the art to remove such decal members 16 by hand from the roll of paper tape 14. It will be noted that a plurality of the decal dispensing apparatus 12 may be placed within a container or box structure so as to be abutting each other whereupon different indicia on the plurality of paper tapes 14 may be utilized as the dispensing apparatus 12 are economical to manufacture. The decal dispensing apparatus 12 includes a main support means 17 having an actuator mechanism 19 mounted thereon engageable with the roll of paper tape 14 as will become obvious.

The support means 17 includes a main base assembly 21 having an upright sidewall 23 secured thereto. The sidewall 23 is of generally rectangular shape having a laterally extended connector shaft 24 thereon to receive a roll of paper tape 14 thereabout for rotational movement.

The base assembly 21 includes a horizontal base member 26 having a support strut 28 secured to one end and an actuator strut 29 mounted on the other end. The support strut 28 adds rigidity as it securely interconnects the sidewall 23 to the base member 26.

The actuator strut 29 is also secured to the base member 26 and the sidewall 23 to provide rigid interconnection between the same. The actuator strut 29 is of a generally block shape inclined forwardly and provided with an upper edge section 31 to receive the roll of paper tape 14 thereagainst. It is noted that the upper surface indicated at 33 of the actuator strut 29 is extended in a horizontal plane but due to the inclination thereof, the upper edge section 31 is of an angle less than for reasons to become obvious.

The actuator mechanism 19 includes a male actuator arm 36 mounted upon a pivot shaft 37 secured to the sidewall 23; a female actuator arm 39 rotatably mounted upon a shaft 41 secured to the sidewall 23; a tension assembly 42 operably connected to a shaft member 44 secured to the sidewall 23 and additionally connected to the pivot shaft 37; and a guide member 46 secured to the sidewall 23 adjacent a lower portion of the actuator strut 29 to properly guide movement of the roll of paper tape 14 as will be explained.

The male actuator arm 36 includes a main block member 48 having one end pivotally connected to the pivot shaft 37 and an intermediate portion thereof provided with a laterally extended control rod of shaft 49. The block member 48 is provided with a lower cam surface 51 to engage a portion of the female actuator arm 39. The control rod 49 extends approximately at a 60 angle relative to the cam surface SI of the block member 48 and operable on clockwise pivotal movement about the pivot shaft 37 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 to move into cooperating engagement with the female actuator arm 39 as will be explained.

The female actuator arm 39 includes a pair of parallel support arms 53 having the upper end pivotally connected to the shaft 41 and the lower ends connected to a control member 55. The connector portion of the support arms 53 are held in the proper spaced relationship thereon by washer members 57 to assure proper operation. The control member 55 is provided with a central connector section 58, at one end with an attachment section 60, and at the other opposite end with a cam section 62. It will be seen that the overall length of the control member 55 and its pivotal relationship to the male actuator arm 36 is a predetermined relationship to provide for the new and novel operation of this invention which will be explained in detail.

The tension assembly 42 includes a rocker arm member 64 pivotally mounted on the shaft member 44 and having a biasing means 66 urging the same into engagement with the edge section 31 of the actuator strut 29. More particularly, the rocker arm 64 is provided with a knife edge section 67; a midsection 69 pivotally connected to the shaft member 44; and a connector end 71. The biasing means 66 in this embodiment is shown as a rubberband member 73 having one end secured to the connector end 71 and the opposite end connected to the pivot shaft 37 of the male actuator arm 36. It is noted, therefore, that the rubberband member 73 operates to bias the rocker arm member 64, as viewed in FIG. 2, in a counterclockwise direction so as to clamp the leading end of the roll of paper tape 14 between its knife edge section 67 and the edge section 31 on the actuator strut 29 during operation.

The guide member 46 is a shaft member 75 positioned adjacent the lower end of the actuator strut 29. It is seen that the shaft member 75 operates to maintain direction of movement of the roll of paper tape 14 as will be explained.

In the use and operation of the decal dispensing apparatus 12 of this invention, it is noted that a plurality of such apparatus may be placed in adjacent, abutting relationship so that each sidewall 23 cooperates with an adjoining one of the dispensing apparatus 12 so as to provide a retaining wall to maintain the roll of paper tape 14 thereon. First, it is seen that the roll of paper tape 14 with the decal members 16 is placed about the connector shaft 24 and moved adjacent the sidewall 23. Next, the free end of the roll of paper tape 14 indicated at 76 is trained over the upper surface 33 and edge section 31 of the actuator strut 29 under the lower knife edge section 67 of the rocker arm 64. Next, the free end 76 of the paper tape 14 is moved downwardly so as to place an upper surface in abutting engagement with the lower surface of the guide member 46 as shown in FIG. 2. In this condition, it is seen that the rocker arm member 64 acts through the rubberband member 73 to bias the roll of paper tape 14 in a downwardly direction for clamping the same against the edge section 31 for movement at substantially a 90 angle as shown in FIG. 2, being against the actuator strut 29.

Next, the free end 76 of the roll of paper tape 14 is pulled outwardly as indicated by the arrow 78 to start the operation from the position of FIG. 2. In referring to FIG. 3, it is seen that the immediate change of direction of the roll of paper tape 14 as shown in FIG. 3 causes the relatively stiff decal member 16 to separate from the paper tape 14 and abut the attachment section 60 of the control member 55 of the female actuator arm 39. This causes the female actuator arm 39 to pivot clockwise as shown in FIG. 3 which, in turn, similarly pivots the male actuator arm 36 through its abutment with the cam section 62. On further movement, it is seen that the pivotal movement of the male actuator arm 36 causes the lower end of the control rod 49 to be moved outwardly towards the position of FIG. 4 to clamp the decal member 16 against the attachment section 60. After movement of the roll of paper tape 14 substantially the length of the decal member 16, it is obvious that an end section 80 is the last to be released from the roll of paper tape 14 as illustrated in FIG. 5. As the connection of the decal member 16 to the roll of paper tape 14 ceases, it is obvious that gravity would cause the actuator arms 36 and 39 to move downwardly to the condition of FIG. 6. In this condition, it is obvious that an operator using the apparatus 12 may readily grasp the decal member 16 for applying to food products or the like.

It is seen, therefore, that the dispensing apparatus of this invention not only dispenses the decal member from the backing paper tape but, most important, it captures and holds the decal member until needed by the operator. Also, the falling of the male actuator arm and female actuator arm capturing the decal member into engagement with the actuator strut provides an audio signal to the operator that the decal member has been released from the backing paper tape and is ready to be grasped.

It is seen that the decal dispensing apparatus of this invention is operable in a most efficient and effective manner to automatically release decal members from a backing paper tape; securely grasp one end of the decal member until needed; and to firmly hold the decal member thereon until needed by the operator. It is seen that the decal dispensing apparatus of this invention is simple in operation; economical to manufacture; and substantially maintenance free. The decal dispensing apparatus is so economical that a plurality of the same can be used at very little expense, each one holding separate decal members for application to canned goods, meat products, or the like.

While the invention has been described in conjunction with preferred specific embodiments thereof, it will be understood that this description is intended to illustrate and not to limit the scope of the invention, which is defined by the following claims.

Iclaim:

IQA dispensing apparatus for removing adhesive backed decal members from a roll of decal conveyance paper tape, comprising:

a. a support means having means for rotatably connecting the roll of paper tape thereon and an upright actuator strut; and

b. an actuator mechanism connected to said support means including a tension assembly connected to said support means having a rocker arm cooperatively engageable with said actuator strut to clamp a free end of the roll of paper tape therebetween; a female actuator arm connected to said support means having a control member engageable with said actuator strut operable through engagement with the decal members; a male actuator arm having a main block member engageable with said female actuator arm and having a control rod movable into engagement with said female actuator arm to clamp a decal member therebetween; and a guide member secured to said support means to maintain a change of direction in movement of the roll of paper tape as it passes over said actuator strut for separation of the decal member therefrom whereby the separated decal member engages said female actuator arm which, in turn, engages said male actuator arm to clamp a leading section of the decal member between said female actuator arm and said control rod.

2. A dispensing apparatus as described in claim ll, wherein:

a. said support means having a base assembly with an upright sidewall member connected thereto; and said actuator strut of a block shape having a forward surface inclined upwardly and an upper actuator edge section so as to train the roll of paper tape at an angle of approximately while passing about said actuator strut.

3. A dispensing apparatus as described in claim 1, wherein:

a. said male actuator arm having said main block member with said control rod extended downwardly therefrom and having one end of said block member pivotally mounted upon a pivot shaft secured to said support means;

b. said female actuator arm having said control member secured to one end of a pair of support arms which have their opposite ends pivotally mounted upon a shaft secured to said support means; and

. said control member having an attachment section to receive the decal members thereon and an upper cam section engageable with said block member of said male actuator arm whereby such interconnection operates to pivot said male actuator arm to move said control rod into engagement with said attachment section to clamp the decal member therebetween.

4. A dispensing apparatus as described in claim 2, wherein: said actuator mechanism including a tension assembly mounted on said support means having a rocker arm biased into engagement with said actuator strut to clamp the roll of paper tape therebetween.

5. A dispensing apparatus as described in claim 4, wherein: said actuator mechanism having a guide member secured to said support means to maintain movement and training of the roll of paper tape over said attachment strut so that the same control rod to clamp the decal member between same and said attachment section.

7. A dispensing apparatus as described in claim 6, wherein:

said actuator mechanism having a rocker member biased into engagement with said actuator strut to assure change of direction of in movement of the roll of paper tape to cause automatic separation of the decal members therefrom. 

1. A dispensing apparatus for removing adhesive backed decal members from a roll of decal conveyance paper tape, comprising: a. a support means having means for rotatably connecting the roll of paper tape thereon and an upright actuator strut; and b. an actuator mechanism connected to said support means including a tension assembly connected to said support means having a rocker arm cooperatively engageable with said actuator strut to clamp a free end of the roll of paper tape therebetween; a female actuator arm connected to said support means having a control member engageable with said actuator strut operable through engagement with the dEcal members; a male actuator arm having a main block member engageable with said female actuator arm and having a control rod movable into engagement with said female actuator arm to clamp a decal member therebetween; and a guide member secured to said support means to maintain a change of direction in movement of the roll of paper tape as it passes over said actuator strut for separation of the decal member therefrom whereby the separated decal member engages said female actuator arm which, in turn, engages said male actuator arm to clamp a leading section of the decal member between said female actuator arm and said control rod.
 2. A dispensing apparatus as described in claim 1, wherein: a. said support means having a base assembly with an upright sidewall member connected thereto; and b. said actuator strut of a block shape having a forward surface inclined upwardly and an upper actuator edge section so as to train the roll of paper tape at an angle of approximately 90* while passing about said actuator strut.
 3. A dispensing apparatus as described in claim 1, wherein: a. said male actuator arm having said main block member with said control rod extended downwardly therefrom and having one end of said block member pivotally mounted upon a pivot shaft secured to said support means; b. said female actuator arm having said control member secured to one end of a pair of support arms which have their opposite ends pivotally mounted upon a shaft secured to said support means; and c. said control member having an attachment section to receive the decal members thereon and an upper cam section engageable with said block member of said male actuator arm whereby such interconnection operates to pivot said male actuator arm to move said control rod into engagement with said attachment section to clamp the decal member therebetween.
 4. A dispensing apparatus as described in claim 2, wherein: said actuator mechanism including a tension assembly mounted on said support means having a rocker arm biased into engagement with said actuator strut to clamp the roll of paper tape therebetween.
 5. A dispensing apparatus as described in claim 4, wherein: said actuator mechanism having a guide member secured to said support means to maintain movement and training of the roll of paper tape over said attachment strut so that the same changes direction substantially 90* so that the decal member continues to move forwardly and therefore is separated automatically on this 90* movement of the roll paper tape.
 6. A dispensing apparatus as described in claim 1, comprising: a. said female actuator arm having said control member pivotally connected to said support means through a pair of parallel support arms having said control rod therebetween; and b. said control member having an attachment section to be engaged by the decal member for pivotal movement and a cam section to engage said block member to move said control rod to clamp the decal member between same and said attachment section.
 7. A dispensing apparatus as described in claim 6, wherein: said actuator mechanism having a rocker member biased into engagement with said actuator strut to assure change of direction of 90* in movement of the roll of paper tape to cause automatic separation of the decal members therefrom. 